1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for locating parking spaces and, more specifically, to a parking guidance method for finding an optimal parking space in a parking garage by using evaluation information for each parking space and categorizing the available parking spaces according to customer preference.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently no method exists for major parking garage companies to route their customers to parking spaces that best meet customers' needs. For example, when a customer enters a shopping mall garage more likely than not he or she will have a hard and frustrating time trying to find a desired parking space. During a holiday season a parking experience at a shopping mall can be exasperating. Many shopping mall customers have special parking needs, including sufficient space to park a larger vehicle, for example a sports utility vehicle, parking space next to a mall entrance or an entrance to a desired store within the mall, maternity or handicap parking, parking in secure or well lit areas, etc. Presently, in a crowded parking lot of a shopping mall or an airport, customers are left to drive for long periods of time searching and waiting for available parking space compatible with their needs. This haphazard manner of parking creates congestion, reduces the number of customers that are able to enter the garage and through it the mall, aggravates the customer, and causes revenue loss for both the garage and mall operators.
Numerous additional systems for monitoring, guiding, and managing vehicle parking have been provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,376,547; 5,004,997; 5,091,727; 5,432,508; 5,504,314; 5,910,782; 5,940,481; 6,107,942; 6,147,624; 6,285,297 and 6,426,708 are all illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
Apparatus for indicating the location of vacant parking places within a parking facility. A number of transducers, which are arranged throughout the parking facility and each of which monitors a particular parking place, are combined to operate with a single transceiver. This transceiver is selectively connected to each of said transducer, in turn, by switching circuits and as each parking place is monitored a corresponding indicator is made to register that place as occupied or vacant.
An electronic parking-aid device for guiding a motorist when parking a vehicle in a parking bay. The device includes a transmitter and receiver which respectively transmits a signal towards the front of an approaching vehicle and receives the signal reflected thereby. A computing apparatus coupled to the transmitter and receiver for computing the distance from the front of the vehicle to the device and a logic apparatus coupled to the computing apparatus compares the computed distance with a predetermined threshold so as to generate an output signal if the computed distance is less than the threshold. The logic apparatus compares the computed distance to two different thresholds so as to generate corresponding output signals if the computed distance is less than the lower threshold, or lies between the two thresholds, or is greater than the larger threshold. Red, amber and green indication lamps are connected to the logic apparatus and are responsive to the respective output signals so as to advise a motorist when he is safe to proceed, when he should proceed with caution, and when he should stop, respectively. Also a parking management system wherein each parking bay is provided with a parking-aid device for monitoring whether a respective parking bay is occupied or vacant.
An automated parking facility management system which determines when a vehicle is at a facility entrance, stores the locations of vacated facility parking spots, determines the location of a desirable vacated parking spot in relation to either the facility entrance or the facility exit, prints a parking record for the customer including the computed location, removes the compound location from the memory after it has been printed to prevent assigning the same spot to two vehicles, and then adds to computed location back into the memory when the vehicle is leaving the facility to make the location available to another vehicle.
Parking for vehicles is facilitated, monitored and controlled by using sensors to determine the availability of vacant parking spaces and by indications to alert vehicle operators at a substantial distance of the availability a vacant space. A computer controlled system monitors the sensors and controls the delivery indicator signals. Data regarding parking occupancy is used to uniform drivers entering the facility and prospective users, via a telephone interface, of the availability of parking. The telephone interface further allows users to reserve parking spaces and charge the cost of the reserved space.
The invention relates to a monitoring and/or directing system for parking areas which exhibit parking spaces. In order that the risk of theft is reduced and/if appropriate, incoming vehicles can be guided specifically to empty parking spaces, the monitoring and/or directing system is designed with at least one entrance and departure station provided for issue and retrieval of parking tickets fitted with an electronic identification element, with communicators which detect the parking tickets, there being arranged, at each parking space, at least one communicator which has a detection region directed towards the associated parking space, and with data lines via which the communicators and the entrance and departure stations are connected to a central computer.
An on-board vehicle navigation system parking space finder that offers a driver a competitive edge in finding available on-street parking. Drivers not familiar with an area are able to locate available metered parking spaces with ease. Drivers may be informed, on demand, of what type of currency they need for parking meters in certain areas, so they can stop for change, if necessary. Drivers will have information about maximum time limits for different parking meters, and can use this information to select meters with longer time limits, if necessary. Metered parking information specific to a vehicles current location, as well as metered parking information specific to a requested location, are made optionally available to drivers from within their vehicles.
A parking management communication system including a central control unit having a data base, a central interface unit and at least one user interface unit, the central interface unit being in communication with the at least one user interface unit via at least one of wired and wireless communication link.
A parking guidance and management system. The system provides graphical information regarding the relative availability of parking spaces within a parking garage or other large facility. The system relies on a video image sensing system wherein each space in the facility is monitored by a camera to determine whether or not it is occupied. A single camera may be used to determine the status of a plurality of spaces. The information is displayed at strategically located displays along the way to available spaces. The displays contain advertising messages adjacent to the information about space availability. Revenues generated by the sale of advertising can be used by the facility operator to defray the purchase and/or maintenance cost of the guidance and management system. The information obtained from the sensors at each parking space may be used to provide information to the manager of the facility regarding space utilization. Information regarding the occupancy status of each space may also be used as a check on receipts of parking fees and to identify abandoned vehicles.
Available spaces in a system may identified using detectors in each of the spaces. The detectors may communicate the availability of a space after detecting whether or not an item is currently situated at the space. This information may be assembled and displayed using mapping software to indicate available spaces. In addition, a user may be provided with information about how to traverse through the system of spaces to locate the available space. In one embodiment of the present invention, the available spaces are parking spaces and the user is a vehicle operator having an in-car personal computer system. An in-car personal computer systems may have a display showing a map of the parking facility, indicating an available space and providing directions to reach that space.
The invention provides a system for determining and communication the availability of parking spaces. The system includes an optical adapted to scan a plurality of the parking spaces and to produce scan data for the parking spaces scanned. The system also includes a processor adapted to receive the scan data from the optical detector and to determine the availability of the scanned parking spaces from the scan data. The system may include a telephone link and/or a radio transmitter for transmitting a signal to indicate the parking pace availability.
A parking advisor images scenes of a parking area and identifiers free spaces using image processing techniques. The advisor then makes recommendations as to which areas a driver should go based on the locations of free spaces. One way of outputting the recommendations is to display them on a terminal at an entry gate or to print them on a ticket, receipt, or other piece of paper. An entry terminal may be provided to allow the user to enter a preferred destination served by the parking area. For example, the destination could be a particular airline terminal or department store. The advisor may select, among the free spaces identified, those that are most convenient to the destination and provide corresponding directions.